


A Day's Work

by kythen



Series: Youkai and Exorcist AU [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, KuroDai Weekend 2017, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Slice of Life, Youkai, exorcist!Daichi, got some shoujo tropes in there, nekomata!Kuroo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-25
Updated: 2017-08-25
Packaged: 2018-12-19 18:44:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11903907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kythen/pseuds/kythen
Summary: Kurodai Weekend Day 1 - Spirits:Shinigami AU/ Yokai & Exorcist AUA day in the life of Sawamura Daichi, professional exorcist and youkai hunter, and Kuroo, professional youkai.





	A Day's Work

There is nothing like an invigorating sprint through the forest to keep the blood pumping, the body and spirit healthy. But the problem here is that Daichi has been at this for three whole hours now and rather than maintaining a healthy body and spirit, he feels like he might just expire on the spot if they don't get this job over and done with.

 _"Kuroo,"_ Daichi calls out with his mind, feeling the bond between them hum as he makes the connection. _"We have to regroup."_

 _"What, tired already?"_ Kuroo responds, a teasing lilt in his voice.

 _"Yes,"_ Daichi replies, not taking the bait. _"Not all of us have inhuman stamina like you do. Plus, I'm beginning to think that we're being led on a wild goose chase here, seeing that neither of us have caught up to them after this long."_

 _"I was thinking the same thing,"_ Kuroo admits, _"but I lost track of time, or your human definition of time anyway. They're probably splitting us up because it feels like you're getting further away from me."_

_"Okay, then we definitely need to regroup."_

Daichi focuses on the bushy tail a distance before him, which darts around trees and barrels through bushes, forcing Daichi to follow it on a convoluted path through the forest. He doesn't know why he hadn't thought of doing this earlier. All that hectic running must have clogged up his head if hadn't even thought to check if his target was still there or long gone. He throws his senses out in a wide arc before him, catching on the bushy tail and grimacing.

_"Daichi?"_

_"It's gone. I'm chasing an illusion. A really good one."_

_"Same here. They must have switched out while we were chasing them because I'm sure that they were there at the start."_

_"Damn tricksters."_

_"That's kitsune for you."_

_"Kuroo, are they still in the forest?"_

_"I can still smell them so they must be nearby. I bet they're just watching us and laughing their tails off,"_ Kuroo growls.

 _"We shouldn't be making this mistake in the first place. It's a rookie mistake,"_ Daichi sighs, running a hand through his sweat-soaked hair.

_"Hate yourself later. Let's regroup."_

_"If we suddenly stop chasing them, they'll suspect that something is up. I'll pretend to stop because I'm out of breath and you come over to where I am."_

_"You just want a break,"_ Kuroo says accusingly.

 _"Well, I don't have to pretend to be out of breath because I_ am _out of breath,"_ Daichi says.

_"Tsk. Humans. Okay, I'll come get you. Don't get eaten in the meantime."_

Daichi slows to a jog then a walk, panting heavily as he watches the bushy tail leap out of sight. He stops in a clearing, resting his hand on a tree trunk to brace his wobbly legs, keeping his senses alert. This would be the best time for the kitsune to launch an attack on him if they were planning to, when Daichi appeared to be at his weakest. If they do, Daichi might actually thank them because it means that he won't have to keep running when he could face them out in the open. He would take a direct confrontation over an endurance run through the forest any day.

The trees around him rustle and Daichi tenses up, then relaxes when he feels the distance between Kuroo and him vanish. Kuroo lands in the clearing neatly, his paws making no sound against the forest floor. Even in the bright noon sun, his massive body is pitch-black, his thick fur stubbornly refusing to absorb any light. His two tails wave jauntily in the air as he heads towards Daichi and regards him with slitted golden eyes.

"You look awful," Kuroo remarks aloud, eyeing Daichi critically.

"Thanks," Daichi says dryly.

 _"As I thought, they're watching us. There's one near you and the other followed me all the way here,"_ Kuroo tells Daichi through their mental link. _"They're careful, but if you strain your senses you can pick up your kitsune shadow."_

Daichi rests his back against the tree trunk and says aloud, "Let me rest for a while before we go on."

He shuts his eyes and reaches out with his senses, feeling past the giant presence before him that is Kuroo and locating a smaller, distinctively kitsune-like presence at the very edge of his senses. He can't feel the other kitsune, the one tailing Kuroo, no matter how much he strains and he breaks his concentration in resignation.

 _"I know where mine is but not yours,"_ Daichi reports.

_"That's good enough. I'll take one and you take the other. We'll catch them by surprise."_

"Come here for a moment," Daichi says aloud to Kuroo, spreading his arms wide and looking at him pleadingly.

Kuroo trots over, ducking his head to nuzzle Daichi's neck. Daichi hugs him around the neck, burying a hand in his thick fur and using his other hand to fish out the talismans from his shirt, hiding his movements from sight with Kuroo's bulk.

 _"On the count of three,"_ Daichi tells him, focusing on his kitsune target. _"One, two, three!"_

Daichi drops to the ground to slam a barrier talisman into the earth, drawing a pattern around it in a lightning-quick motion and directing his barrier to stretch all the way to where the kitsune is. Kuroo is already gone, no doubt tearing after his own target and scaring the living wits out of it. Daichi feels resistance against his barrier, clawing at its walls and searching for a way out frantically. But his barrier will hold—they are his specialty after all—and Daichi concentrates on shrinking the size of his barrier, pulling the kitsune in towards him rather than going to it and leaving his barrier talisman unprotected.

A hissing blur flies towards him, a kitsune's powerful jaws aiming straight for Daichi's neck. Daichi dodges, letting it sail over his head, and when he turns, the kitsune is on the ground with its claws outstretched over his barrier talisman, ready to destroy it.

"Seal," Daichi whispers, feeling the energy surge from the rest of the talismans he had scattered around his barrier seal. When inactivated, the talismans were mere pieces of paper that youkai wouldn't sense, making them the perfect traps.

The kitsune howls as it freezes in place, unable to move or resort to trickery while within reach of Daichi's trap talismans. It glares at Daichi as he comes close and seals it off, sticking another talisman on its side with a quick chant. Disgruntled, it stays still in Daichi's arms as Daichi clears the talismans on the ground and dispels his spells.

"Daichi!" a familiar voice sings, the sound muffled, and Daichi looks up to see Kuroo trotting back into the clearing triumphantly, holding a slightly singed and equally disgruntled kitsune in his mouth.

\---

Daichi makes the trek back to the village on exhausted legs, showing the village head his two captives, the twin kitsune, and receiving his payment in exchange. He asks them for a wicker basket to place the two immobile kitsune in, sealing it with talismans all over the sides and its cover. Then he throws a checkered blanket over it to hide how suspicious it looks to the public eye.

"It almost looks like we're going on a picnic," Kuroo remarks as Daichi leaves the village hall with the cheery-looking basket in tow. He leans against a wall across the street in the form of a tall, lanky man with black hair that looks like it has seen better sleeping positions and hazel eyes that look the slightest bit catlike in the right light.

"I wish," Daichi sighs. "But no, we're going to the Fushimi Inari Shrine to drop off these two troublemakers."

At this odd hour in the afternoon, Daichi manages to grab a seat in the nearly empty train and he sinks gratefully into it, resting the wicker basket in his lap. Kuroo drops into the seat beside him, still looking at the cheerfully covered basket with amusement.

"Hey," one of the kitsune pipes up from within the basket as the train starts moving. "Your line of work seems fun. Instead of going all the way to Fushimi Inari while you're this tired, why not take us on as familiars? I bet we'd be more useful than your cat over there."

"No, thanks," Daichi replies curtly. "I already have my hands full with one."

Kuroo rests his chin on Daichi's shoulder and looks down at the basket, saying smugly, "Sorry, boys, but he's mine."

"Ooh," the kitsune chorus.

"Looks like you like some tail in your men," the first kitsune remarks slyly. "If you give us the chance to transform, we're actually really handsome as men. How about it, exorcist-san?"

"I'm going to take a nap," Daichi says loudly, ignoring the kitsune's comments about his taste in familiars and men. "Kuroo, wake me up when we're there."

"Sure thing. Go to sleep, Daichi," Kuroo leans against him, a warm and steady weight against his side. He blinks down at the basket, smiling pleasantly and showing the kitsune razor-sharp teeth. "I'll watch them and if they get too rowdy, I'll just eat them for you."

\---

When Daichi wakes up, his head is pillowed on Kuroo's shoulder and Kuroo has an arm around him to keep him from sliding off his seat.

The kitsune twins titter at him all the way to the shrine.

\---

The sun has set by the time Daichi makes it back home and he gropes along the wall for the light switch with one hand, his other hand laden down with groceries. Despite the size of the Sawamura compound, only the sitting room, the kitchen and two rooms are in use, given that Daichi is the only one who lives here now. The place is too big for him but he can't bear to move out and sell his family home, not with all its memories and secrets contained within its walls.

"I'm home," he calls out in the empty house, toeing his shoes off at the entrance.

 _"Me too,"_ Kuroo choruses, leaping past Daichi on soft feet as an ordinary black housecat.

Kuroo leads the way to the kitchen with his tail raised high, waiting for Daichi to catch up at the doorway. As Daichi enters the kitchen, Kuroo twines around his legs and meows piteously at his feet, nearly tripping him up.

 _"Fish. Give me the fish. I saw you get the good stuff."_ Kuroo paws at his thigh.

"Give me a minute, we just got back." Daichi nudges Kuroo away with a foot so that he can place his groceries on the table.

 _"Grill it please. I like it grilled with salt,"_ Kuroo tells him, licking his chops.

"You know you could very well do this yourself. In a form that has two opposable thumbs," Daichi points out, taking the food items out of their bags. "Then you wouldn't have to wait for me."

 _"I'm no good with these finicky human chores,"_ Kuroo sniffs, licking a paw delicately. _"Besides, I'm more adorable in this form, don't you think?"_ He rolls over on his back and looks up at Daichi with big, golden eyes.

Daichi snorts as he sets up the portable charcoal grill on the floor. The modern grills built into the stovetop just don't have the same flavour, so Kuroo says. "I've seen you in all your other forms. That doesn't work on me anymore."

"Then how about this one?" Kuroo asks, his voice suddenly in Daichi's ear and not his head. There is a solid warmth at Daichi's back, hands hovering over his waist and sliding down into the pockets of his jeans.

Daichi turns and shoves the bag of fish at Kuroo's chest. "Good. You now have opposable thumbs. Do it yourself, you freeloader."

"Slavedriver," Kuroo mutters, cradling his bag of precious fish in his hands as Daichi steps away to prepare his dinner.

"You don't have to eat," Daichi tell him. "Or you can eat them raw just like in the good old days you keep reminiscing about."

When Daichi turns back around, Kuroo is already crouched over the grill, calling up a flame to light the charcoal. He is sulking and if he had his cat ears and tail, Daichi knows that they would be drooping too. For someone who is supposedly a couple of hundreds years old, Kuroo is surprisingly childish when it comes to things like this. Maybe it comes from being a cat spirit, contrary and free-willed to the end.

But after spending all these years with him, Daichi has grown to find that side of Kuroo strangely endearing, not that he would tell him. He would never hear the end of it if Kuroo knew about Daichi's soft spot for him. Kuroo would never lift a paw again to grill his own fish.

Daichi crouches next to Kuroo, watching Kuroo place each fish reverently on the grill, trying to fit as many pieces as he can on the tiny grill. His eyes are shining as he watches the fish cook on the fire, his hunger showing through.

"Here," Daichi nudges him, breaking him out of his reverie and handing him the salt.

Kuroo sprinkles it on carefully then sits back on his haunches, his eyes never leaving the grill. "I'll give some to you when they're done," he says to Daichi.

"That's surprisingly generous of you."

Kuroo shrugs. "I could probably spare one or two for you."

"That's not even half of what I bought." Daichi scowls.

"I have dibs on all the fish that enters this house," Kuroo informs him loftily. "It's in our contract."

"It is not."

"Maybe you should read it again."

"Nice try but no. I know what I wrote." Daichi stands, going back to preparing ingredients for his dinner.

"You're getting harder to fool," Kuroo complains, finally looking away from his precious fish, following Daichi with his eyes as he crosses the kitchen. "Back in the past, you'd get flustered and start pouring over that old thing immediately. It was adorable."

"It comes from living with you this long, I guess," Daichi replies dryly. "Either I stop taking everything you say so seriously or I go mad."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Kuroo grins, turning back to the grill as his fish begins to smoke.

**Author's Note:**

> Note: They aren't in a romantic relationship. (Yet.)
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Find me here: [tumblr](http://kythen.tumblr.com) / [twitter](http://twitter.com/catcrowcalls)


End file.
